Adsorption of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and/or cetyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride on partly covered hanging mercury drop electrode

► Adsorbed surfactants on mercury are used as templates. ► The second adsorbed surfactant does not remove away the first one. Films and synergy effects are observed. ► The already adsorbed CTAB on mercury does not permit the desorption-reorientation peaks of CDBACl. ► Shifts of the capacitance peaks are attributed to a slow change in the organization of the monolayer. ► The ordering and arrangement of molecules could be controlled by appropriate selection of templates.